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Black Rabite
The Ebon Rabite, known colloquially as the Black Rabite or Death Rabite, are far and away the most dangerous and evil-tempered of any commonly-encountered rabite, and they have a reputation as cold-blooded monsters that is very well-deserved. They nest in dismal swamps and bogs - the more stagnant, the better - but they will nest anywhere water and dense vegetation are found together, including rainforests, jungles, lowland forests, and moors. They have no natural enemies, though they attack and kill almost anything unfortunate enough to encounter them. Ebon Rabites nesting in forested areas often encounter Silktails, but the two species usually seem to maintain an uneasy truce - so long as Ebon Rabites stick to the marshy areas. Their location means they often attract Will-o-Wisps - Ebon Rabites despise these creatures and attack them on sight. Ebon Rabites make their lairs in large, damp caves or multichambered submerged caverns. They always dwell near water and their lairs usually have both a submerged entrance and a land entrance. Older Ebon Rabites hide both entrances using their psychic abilities to drag plant life to block access to these entrances. Ebon Rabites in dungeons prefer dark, watery locations. A Black Rabite is about the size of a Silktail - usually about 1.5 feet in length and usually weighing under 20 Lbs, but has dark black fur, and a green-furred tail. Their fur is somewhat strange to the touch because it is water-repellent, which gives it a somewhat slick feel despite the rabite itself not being oily or the like. An Ebon Rabite's eyes glow dark red. An Ebon Rabite's tongue is is flat, with a rounded tip. An Ebon Rabite, unless it has bathed recently, smells of rotting vegetation and foul water. A baby ebon rabite has dark gray fur - as the Ebon Rabite grows, this fur darkens, eventually becoming the dark black common to their species. Black Rabites dine primarily on fish, mollusks, and other freshwater marine creatures. They also eat red meat, but have the disturbing habit of letting meat "pickle" a few days in nearby ponds and streams in or around the Rabite's lair before eating it. Many creatures an Ebon Rabite kills are simply left to rot; numerous carcasses left in an area are a sure sign of an Ebon Rabite presence. Ebon Rabites have a noted fondness for coins. An Ebon Rabite nest often has many such things, and they are something an Ebon Rabite treasures most. In keeping with their reputation for ferocity, Ebon Rabites usually fight for their mates. The females do the bulk of the fighting, wandering far and wide in search of a desirable male and then impressing him with a victory over a rival. Young are usually kept near the back of an Ebon Rabite's lair. Ebon Rabites are fiercely protective of their young, but offer little support beyond the occasional bit of advice. Eventually, the parents convince their offspring to leave the area before the older Rabites decide to eat the youngster. Ebon Rabites are ambush attackers. Though they are well-adapted for aquatic survival, they do little actual swimming. Instead, they often hide in the mud at surface level, enjoying the feeling of the water and lying in wait for prey. They almost always use their surroundings as cover. When fighting in forests or swamps, they try to stay in the water or on the ground; as a psychic Rabite, they can levitate but do not do so particularly fast. If outmatched, an Ebon Rabite does its best to float or swim out of sight as to not leave tracks, and takes refuge in the deepest water it can find. As one of the smartest Rabite species - with many roughly as smart as people - Ebon Rabites often can speak a language - most often Undercommon, Sylvan, Common, or Elvish, and will parley with some creatures in very rare circumstances. They are excellent tactically, however, and are smart enough to exploit a foe's weakness if they leave themselves open. Ebon Rabites know that many of their attacks inflict Vile damage, which can only be healed on sacred ground, and they use this to injure a foe they know is too strong before hiding for a time, only to attack later and continue harrying the foe until they've finally brought it down using hit-and-run tactics. Of all rabites, Ebon Rabites cause by far the most human fatalities every year. There are extremely few documented cases of taming Ebon Rabites in the past century, and almost all have only been done by Psychic individuals. If raised from an early age by a Psychic presence, Ebon Rabites bond strongly with their trainers and quickly develop a deep affection for them if treated well. Getting an Ebon Rabite to actually not be true to its murderous nature however, is extremely difficult unless care is taken constantly to teach them "the rules" of the society they are in.